"It's been a tough 18 months for me and this is a great way to kick off a new part of my life," he added, referring to the untimely death in January of his father, rugby league legend Steve Rogers, aged 51.

The former Cronulla Shark has taken a large pay cut to rejoin league with his contracted salary of $225,000 a significant drop from the $650,000 he receives from the Australian Rugby Union.

Rogers stated he was committed to Australia going one better in France next year after being on the losing side in the 2003 final.

"I'm certainly looking forward to the next 12 months in rugby," said Rogers.

"It'd be good to finish with a bang and I can move on knowing that I have achieved everything. By no means do I feel I have achieved everything in rugby, there's still a lot to go."